Part of promoting your personal brand effectively is to radiate a confidence that draws people in and makes them want to find out more about you. Then if there’s a fit between what you provide and what they need, hopefully they make the investment to hire you, or recommend you to someone who can.
When you’re feeling low
But what if you’re just not feeling very confident these days? What if you’ve already cut your business operations to the bone and still won’t be able to make payroll unless a new client lands on your doorstep tomorrow?
Or what if your job search has gone on longer than you had hoped, and with your bank account dwindling and bills piling up, you’re ready to take a job as an overqualified intern to the worst boss in the world?
How do you get out there and talk up the strengths of your personal brand to get potential employers and clients to fall in love with you when you’re just not feeling the love yourself?
While there are no magic words to make that next job or client materialize overnight, there are ways to give yourself a quick confidence boost so you can get back out there with renewed vim and vigor.
Four ideas to move you in the right direction:
1) Get some exercise. Releasing endorphins and getting oxygen to your brain through aerobic exercise will make you feel better physically, which will automatically lift your spirits. You don’t even have to run a marathon. A brisk 30-minute walk where you pump your arms and breathe deeply should do the trick, or if you prefer, take a spin class and really get into the pulsating music. Once you’ve showered and had a healthy snack, you’ll feel amazing and ready to tackle anything.
2) Journal an achievement. Think about a success or accomplishment you had that you felt especially proud about. Take yourself back to that moment and write out what happened, either on your computer or long hand. Chronicle not only what you did to create the result, but also how you felt, and especially the positive feedback you heard from others. The more detail you give, the more vivid the memory will be and the more you’ll actually begin to feel those great emotions you initially experienced.
3) Celebrate, but don’t commiserate. Get together with a group of friends and plan a fun event together. Go to a comedy club, have a pajama party, plan a long bike ride and a picnic in the woods. You don’t need to blow a lot of money to have a good time when you’re with people you really like. But enjoy the moment and don’t use the time to replay every obstacle you’ve encountered and start feeling sorry for yourself all over again. Give yourself permission to take the evening or the day off from your worries.
4) Test out “afformations.” This is one of my favorite exercises. My friend Noah St. John, author of The Secret Code of Success, penned the phrase “afformation” which is a very powerful twist on what most of us know as “affirmations.” An affirmation is a phrase you repeat to yourself that describes the state you want to be in, such as “I am rich” or “I have a great job.” The rationale is that what you say you will eventually believe, and then ultimately will manifest. Trouble is, Noah says, that our brain never quite believes what we’re saying, the affirmation doesn’t stick, nothing changes, and we get more depressed than ever.
Instead, he teaches “afformations,” where instead of statements, you ask yourself questions, such as “Why are people beating down my door to work with me?” or “Why is money suddenly pouring in?” When you ask a question, your brain automatically goes into problem-solving mode to find answers. Make a list of all the ones you come up with. Some might make you feel good (“Because I’m the absolute best at what I do”), some might make you chuckle (“Because I bribed every single person in the company to sign my praises”) and some just might lead to new strategies that you can use (“Because I wrote a kick-ass cover letter that the hiring manager could not ignore”).
Keeping up your confidence takes energy, and pretending to be confident when you’re not can be exhausting. Rather than continuing to grind away and looking for external sources to boost your spirits, try one or more of these activities to raise your confidence levels from the inside out.
